Effect of sparse distribution pores in a Soret-driven ferro thermohaline convection

Thermoconvective instability in a multicomponent fluid has very wide applications in industrial, ionospheric and geothermal systems. More often, it is found that the thermal diffusivity and mass diffusivity interact with each other in fluid systems. But in a liquid system, the effect of heat transport on mass transport is pronounced. In a ferrofluid system which is a synthesized liquid, it is often found that more than one component co-exists in the fluid system contributing to interactive diffusion. In the present analysis, it is intended to study the Soret effect on multicomponent ferrofluid saturating a porous medium with large variation in permeabilities. Linear stability analysis is used. Normal mode technique is applied. The numerical results are presented for both stationary and oscillatory instabilities. It is found that stationary instability is preferred irrespective of values of permeability of pores. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.